Fly or die
by Signora Ramazzotti
Summary: Baloo, Kit and Rebecca involtunarily get involved into a dangerous diamont robbery... Finally updated!
1. Default Chapter

Note: Hey everybody! This is my second TS-fanfic and everytime I read it, I feel like I did something wrong with the grammar on a few places. For instance, sometimes I don't know if I should take "this" or "that". So please review and tell me what I can improve. Enjoy reading!

. - . - . - . -

**F L Y - O R - D I E**

. - . - . - . -

Baloo's mind raced. He had to think quickly.

Think! Think! he thought to himself. He didn't want to die! Not like this!

Why couldn't he think of anything? Anything that would save his butt! Oh god, I'm a dead bear

He closed his eyes. He was ready – ready to suffer.

"Where have you been!"

It was much worse than he had expected. Rebecca Cunningham stood behind her desk – arms folded, face red and eyebrows drawn together like a "V". She looked like she only needed her eyes to murder someone.

"Uh…" was the only thing the big grey bear could say.

"You are over four hours late! FOUR hours!"

Baloo gulped. "I…"

"Yes?" Rebecca was about to explode.

"I… uh… was being held up." Dang! Wrong answer he thought to himself and did a mental head smack.

Rebecca walked up to him and furiously eyed his yellow shirt. "Let me guess: Louie's cheesburger menu!" She pointed at a few stains that ketchup and melted cheese had left on his shirt.

Baloo was impressed and forgot his troubles for a second. "Wow, you're really good," he said and grinned.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do with you, Baloo." Rebecca sighed and finally calmed down a bit. "You're lazy, irresponsible…"

Rebecca was interrupted when the front door flew open again and Kit returned home from school. "Hi, Miz Cunningham! Hey Papa Bear!" he calle dout with a huge smile.

"Hi Kit." Baloo bent down and whispered into the cub's ear: "So glad you're home!"

"You're welcome," Kit said. He already knew what all this was about.

Rebecca forgot being angry for a second and smiled at her young navigator. "How was school?"

"Great!" The cub replied with a huge grin.

Baloo frowned. "What's wrong with you today, L'il Britches? If I remember correctly you were the one who was in a very bad mood this morning."

"I was?" Kit considered for a second.

Baloo let out a short laugh. "Yes, you were!" He put an arm around the boy's shoulders. "C'mon, tell me what got you so happy and excited."

The cub smiled. "Uh… maybe later, okay? I gotta do my homework. See ya!" With that he raced up the stairs and disappeared in the bedroom.

The pilot looked at his boss. "What the hell was that?"

Rebecca just grinned. "Can't you tell?"

Baloo's mouth fell open. "Ya mean… a girl?"

She nodded. "I guess. Isn't that sweet?"

The pilot couldn't believe his ears. "Sweet? He's way too young!"

"Too young?"

"This can't be happening already." Baloo slumped into his easy chair and sighed. "He's only twelve!"

"Well, that's how old I was when it happened for the first time," Rebecca said and leaned against her desk.

The pilot frowned. "When I was in love for the first time I was already sixteen."

Rebecca laughed. "No, I wasn't in love. Neither is Kit. It's probably just a little crush."

"A crush? You think so?" Baloo was unsure. He had never talked to Kit about girls before and he didn't know how to start with it. He knew that this was going to be uncomfortable but he didn't know that it would happen so soon. "I'm just not… prepared for something like this yet," he admited to Rebecca.

"I understand," she said. "But I don't think that there is anything for you to do about it. Kit will be fine. But you do know that someday you have to talk to him about, you know… girls, dating and so on."

"Yeah, I know. I'll try my best then." He smiled at her. "Thanks, Becky."

"You're welcome." She considered for a moment. "So, where were we before? Oh yeah, we were talking about you being lazy, irresponsible…"

And here we go… Baloo sighed and closed his eyes. He had hoped that this uncomfortable conversation was already over but obviously he was wrong.

. - . - . - . -

It was raining nonstop in Saint Loua. From time to time there was thunder and lightning, causing a few trees to flash up behind the noise protecion wall of the highway. Tires squealed and the howling of a siren was heard.

A black car was racing down the highway. While hooting like crazy, it overtook several other drivers.

A brown panther, known as Ken Sheridan, was behind the wheel and stared through the windshield, concentrating on the traffic.

"There getting closer!" yelled the other person in the car who was nervously staring at a police car through the rearview mirror. The blue and red lights came closer.

"Damn!" Sheridan yelled.

"Can't you go faster!"

"Can't you see that there are two slow trucks and a camper before us, Kian?" Sheridan barked at his accomplice. "Just take a look at the map and tell me where the next exit is."

Kian opened the glove compartment with shaking hands and pulled out a street map. Before looking at it, he took a glance at the small wooden box underneath his feet. He still couldn't believe that he and Sheridan had stolen one of the biggest diamonds in the world from the Loua Museum. It was like a dream that's come true. They would earn a fortune with it! But only if they would be able to escape.

"I can't take this anymore," Sheridan grunted and overtook the first truck on the right side. Sparks sprayed and the truck slid to the left, crashing against a red limousine.

"Watch out!" Kian cried out.

Sheridan rammed the back of the camper, trying to overtake it. It slid away, crosswise over the left side of the road. Three cars weren't able to slow down and crashed into the camper.

"Aaayahh!" screamed Kian and grabbed his seatbelt. As soon as they had overtaken the camper, he turned his head back just to see that the police was still after them. "The cops are still there!"

"Not for long," Sheridan said, steering the car with only one hand to grab his pistol with the other. He quickly cranked down the window, leaned out and aimed at the tires of the police car.

He pulled the trigger four times and the police car went into a skid. Sheridan had hit two of the tires.

Police officer Jo Lee, a tall panda bear, tried to stop the car but didn't succeed. "Oh, damn it!" His car broke through the guard rail and crashed into the noise protection wall.

Officer Lee carefully moved his fingers and toes to see if he was still alive. Some blood guttered over his forehead and cheeks. He had hit his head at the side window. Still shocked, he was staring through the broken windshield.

Sheridan's car was long gone. It had taken the next exit off the highway – to Cape Suzette.

(End of the first chapter)


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

* * *

Kit sat on his bed, reading some of his comic books. He was in such a good mood that he had finished all of his homework right after getting back from school –on aFriday! Normally the cub never did all of his homework on Friday; he always waited until Sunday evening.

But he had a good reason to be happy because today he finally belonged to the track and field athletics team. He had trained really hard for it and it had been worth it. Kit would have been able to join earlier but then there was the incident where he and Baloo had switched bodies. And with Baloo's condition there was no way to get into the team.

The bedroom door was opened and Baloo walked in. "Hiya, L'il Britches," he greeted the boy and sat down on his bed.

Kit looked up from his comics. "Hey, Papa Bear. Miss Cunningham kept yelling at you for quite a long time…"

"Aw, ya know Becky – always making a mountain out of a molehill," the pilot said and took off his hat.

"Right." Kit had to shake his head slightly but didn't say anything else. He didn't want to tell the big bear that he was actually on Rebecca's side. It would just start a long discussion.

Baloo thought that this was the excellent opportunity to have a talk with Kit. The pilot shifted a bit on his bed. "Uh… Kit… there's something… uh…" He had absolutely no idea how to start this conversation.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I know why you are so happy today," Baloo finally said.

Kit frowned. "Really? You do?" He put his comic books aside. "How did you know about that?"

Baloo smiled a bit. "It's obvious, L'il Britches." He reached over and put his hand on the cub's shoulder.

"It's obvious?" asked Kit confused.

The big grey bear nodded. "Yes, and believe me… I know exactly how you feel right now."

"You do?"

"Yeah, and I wanted to talk to you 'bout it." This is much easier than I expected Baloo thought.

"Uh…" Kit didn't know what this was all about. "I don't think there is anything to talk about, Papa Bear," he started. "I mean, you don't seem to know much about it."

Baloo was slightly shocked that Kit would even think something like that. "You think I don't know much about it? C'mon, I'm older than you!"

"Baloo, the age has nothing to do with it," Kit replied and had to smile a bit. He really has no idea about athletics.

Baloo's eyes grew big. "Uh… what? What are you talking about, Kit?"

"What are_you_ talking about, Baloo?"

"I'm trying to tell you about the time when it first happened to me," Baloo declared.

Kit looked at the pilot and cocked up an eyebrow. "When has that ever happened to you?"

"Hey!" Baloo was getting a bit angry. "That's not very nice of you, Kit!"

The cub had no idea why but he started to feel sorry since Baloo's feelings seemed to be truly hurt. "I'm sorry, Papa Bear. I'm just trying to be honest."

Baloo couldn't believe his ears. "Well, you don't even know about my life before we met!"

"But I know about the time we switched bodies because ofan urn. You didn't even know what to do with hurdles." Kit looked a bit shocked. "Why are you yelling at me anyway?"

"I'm yelling because…" Baloo stopped for a moment. "Did you just say hurdles?" He blinked confused a few times.

Kit was slightly upset. "Yes. Why?"

"Uh.. what's the whole thing got to do with hurdles?" asked the pilot.

Oh my god Kit thought and shook his head slightly. "Baloo, we're still talking about track and field athletics, right?

"Track and…" Baloo bit his lips and looked to the floor; slightly embarrassed. After a few silent seconds he asked, "So, yer excited about sports?"

"I'm excited to be in the track and field team," Kit replied, "I thought you already knew that." He considered for a few seconds. "Then what were you talking about the whole time, Papa Bear?"

Baloo shifted uncomfortable. "Uh.. no- nothing," he mumbled and got up. "I guess I just misunderstood the whole thing… uh… Anyway, sorry fer yelling at you, L'il Britches. I think it's great that you're in the team." He squeezed the boy's shoulder and hastily left the room.

Kit stared at the closed bedroom door. That was weird he thought and simply went back to his comics.

* * *

A little outside of Cape Suzette on a desolate sandy beach behind a green hill, Ken Sheridan and Kian got out of their car. They wanted to call as less attention as possible and that was why Sheridan suggested to look for another craft to escape.

"Ken, we can't leave the car here!" Kian nervously kept looking around him although not a single person was in sight. "We would leave a trace behind. They would find us in the wink of an eye!"

Sheridan rolled his eyes. "Leaving the car here on the beach is not what I had in mind." He pointed at the blue sea. "We just let it disappear. Come on, gimme a hand here!" Together with Kian he started to push the vehicle towards the water until it would be deep enough to sink to the ground.

"We'll be in prison lifelong," moaned Kian as he watched the car sink between the waves of the ocean.

Sheridan nearly lost his patience. "Stop it!" he barked. "Why do you keep thinking they're going to get us? We have done worse things like this!" He touched the gun he had under his jacket, just to be sure it was still there. Then he bent down and picked up the box with the diamond which he had put down in the sand earlier, and pushed it into Kian's hands.

Kian stared at Sheridan's jacked. "Why haven't ya used the gun earlier already?" he wanted to know.

"I wanna save ammo. We might need it later on. I only shoot when it's really necessary, okay? Now, c'mon! Let's go!"

"Where to?" asked his complice.

"Back there's the harbour of Cape Suzette", explained Sheridan and pointed with his head at a row of wooden roofs which could be seen behind a hill. "There's hundrets of cargo ships and planes there."

Kian considered for a second until his face lit up. "Oh, I understand", he grinned. "And we will borrow one of those transport opportunities, right?"

"Exactly." Sheridan flapped him. "Now, c'mon! What are ya waiting for? Move, you lazybones!"

When they were walking towards Suzette Harbour, Ken Sheridan kept wondering why he hired a guy like Kian. Of course he was strong and in Sheridan's opinion he would even be able to beat up a man like Shere Khan, but still Kian was always too frightened. He would never have the courage to pull the trigger of a gun. He could never kill anyone. He was too soft for Sheridan.

­­­­­­­­

* * *

"There you are, Baloo!" Rebecca exclaimed when she walked outside and saw the big grey bear lazily lying in his hammock which was tied under the Sea Duck's wings.

Baloo jerked awake. "Aww… no," he moaned and slowly got up.

She sighed and looked at the clipboard she was holding in her hand. "You're already late for your next delivery so you better hurry up a bit."

The pilot moaned again and promptly earned a glare from his boss. "What's the delivery about?" he wanted to know and yawned.

"Surfboards."

"Thrilling, Becky," was Baloo's only comment. "Oh, by the way, you were totally wrong!" he added in a slight angry tone when they were walking up to the barn with the cargo crates.

"About what?" Rebecca asked puzzled.

"About Kit."

She looked at the big bear. "Did you talk to him? What did he say?"

"Well, it's not about a girl," Baloo replied, "He was just so excited 'cause he's finally in the track 'n field team at school."

"Oh, that's great," was Rebecca's only answer and she looked back at her clipboard.

"No," continued Baloo, "no, that's not great! I made a total fool of myself when I started talking to him about when it happened to me the first time and so on."

Rebecca frowned. "You were into sports?"

"No! About girls!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Baloo," she apologized. "But even if he hasn't a crush on a girl now, I think you should still have this conversation with him."

"Aww, no," the pilot moaned and put his hands over his eyes.

Rebecca put a hand on his shoulder. "Baloo, you are the only person he trusts like a father. It's your job."

Baloo sighed. "I know but this is all happening way too fast. I've only known him for like a year."

"I know this is weird for you but it's very important that Kit knows he can always come to you and ask questions about it." Rebecca wanted say something else but stopped when she heard Kit's voice around the corner.

"Baloo? Miss Cunningham?"

"In the barn!" Baloo called out just a few seconds before the brown bear cub already approached them.

"I just saw two weird looking guys sneaking around the building," Kit told them. "They were watching the Sea Duck all the time." The boy had been watching two brown panthers from the window a while. Something had been peculiar about them.

Baloo smiled a bit. "Aw, I'm sure it's nothing ta worry about, L'il Britches."

"I dunno but I don't have a good feeling about this," the cub said.

"I don't think that anyone would steal an airplane during daytime," Rebecca supposed.

Kit considered. "I guess that makes sense."

Baloo decided to change the subject. "By the way, L'il Britches, I need to talk to you later on."

"Again?" was Kit's only reply. He still had the weird bedroom conversation in mind that they had had earlier that day.

"Yeah, we still got some deliveries to do and we can talk in the Sea Duck, 'kay?"

Kit shrugged. "Yes, ok."

"Okay but now back to your cargo, Baloo," Rebecca said and looked back at her clipboard.

Kit thought Baloo was strong enough to carry the crates alone and simply went back to where the Sea Duck was parked. He looked around the corner just to find out that the panthers weren't there anymore. Maybe this time Papa Bear is right and those guys are harmless Kit thought. The cub decided to open the cargo hatch for Baloo and approached the yellow seaplane. He entered the cargo hold and stopped in his tracks when he suddenly heard voices in the cockpit.

"Ken, are you sure you know how to fly a plane?" The voice sounded slightly nervous.

"Well, how hard can it be?" said the second voice.

Kit tiptoed over to the cockpit door and peered inside. The panthers! gasped an alarmed voice in his head. He had to get back and tell Baloo. Carefully, the boy took a step back and his back accidentally hit a broom that had been leaning against the wall. It fell to the floor with a thud.

The boy gasped and turned to run out of the airplane. He had just reached the back door when he heard the cockpit door swing open and felt a big hand cover his mouth and pull him back.

* * *

End of Chapter 2

* * *

_It's been a long time, I know – sorry. At first this chapter only contained the first talk between Baloo and Kit. It was already uploaded and then I decided that it was way too short. It wasn't even worth calling it a chapter. I should have called it "paige" or "half of a site". I deleted it again and worked on it and now I'm finally satisfied with it. I hope you guys like it. Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: laughs I never thought I'd ever write another chapter on that story. Well, to put it short: I had a really bad writer's block that's now finally lifted (even if the chapter's a short one again, but doesn't matter...)! I bet you guys don't even remember the first two chapters of my fanfic :-) Anyway, enjoy this one! I'll work faster on the next one _

* * *

Baloo sighed. The concern about "the talk" with Kit was really bothering him. How was he supposed to handle it? His thoughts wandered back to his own childhood and beginning teenage years. He could not remember about having had this kind of conversation. His father had never been home and his mother had died when he was only ten years old. The only person he had had a really close relationship with was his grandmother – but still she had never talked to him about teenage problems. Instead she had been busy feeding her favorite grandchild with lots of cookies.

Baloo smiled at the memory of his grandmother's self-made chocolate chip cookies. All the other women in the neighborhood had been jealous because none of them was able to bake that good.

"Baloo!"

He jumped at Rebecca's sharp voice as it cut straight through his favorite childhood memory.

"I'm not paying you for daydreaming, mister," Rebecca scolded. "Make sure to get your cargo ready." She was about to leave the barn when she stopped at the sound of the Seaduck's engine outside. "Did you tell Kit or Wildcat to start up the Seaduck?"

"Not that I know off." Baloo's eyes grew wide. He dropped the crate he had just picked up and raced outside just to see the Seaduck take off. He only caught a glimpse of a brown fiercely looking panther behind the windshield. He must be one of the strange guys that Kit had seen sneaking around the building! "Stop! Plane-nappers!!" He yelled waving his arms furiously.

Rebecca approached him. "What the hell is going on?"

"A panther… He took the plane!" Baloo suddenly peered around him. "Kit?"

No answer.

"KIT!" He cried out. He couldn't have been… "No!"

"I… I'll call the police!" Rebecca stormed into her office while big grey bear stayed helplessly at the end of the pier looking towards the cliffs where the Seaduck had already disappeared.

After a few minutes he finally turned his gaze away from the cliffs and sat down on the old wet wood. Rebecca emerged from the building and walked down the pier to join the pilot. "I talked to the police on the phone", she said silently. "They will be right over."

"Good…" Baloo mumbled although he already knew that the police could not do much about it right now. He sighed sadly. "I don't get it, Becky. Why did they kidnap him? This whole thing can't possibly be about money… We're not rich."

Rebecca didn't know what to say. "I'm so sorry Baloo. But maybe the kidnappers will leave a message for us. Then we'll know what to do." Her words were not really a consolation.

"I sure hope so, Beckers," Baloo whispered.

* * *

"Let me go!" Kit struggled in Kian's arms punching the big panther into the face.

"Ow!" Kian yelled.

"What the hell is going on back there?" barked Ken Sheridan who was sitting in the pilot's seat. "Why is it so hard to keep him quiet?" He put the Seaduck on autopilot and went into the cargo hold pulling out his gun. "Alright kid, either you shut up and hold still right now or I'll bump you off!"

Kit froze in Kian's arms breathing heavily from throwing his fists at Kian.

"That's better." Sheridan grinned evilly and then yelled at his partner: "Tie him up, will ya?"

Kian obeyed and a few minutes later Kit sat in a corner in the cargo hold with his hands tied together behind his back. Even his feet were caught together with a rope so he was unable to move. Still he was not alone as Kian was sitting on the folding bed on the wall guarding him.

The panther looked down at his hands that held Sheridan's gun. He shuddered. He did not like weapons… when he had agreed to join Sheridan to steal the diamond in the first place he had hoped he would never have to use a gun. Just the thought of threatening someone with it made his stomach twitch.

"What do you want from me?" Kit wanted to know. As the door to the cockpit was closed Sheridan would not be able to hear a silent conversation between him and Kian. The boy was not really afraid of Kian. Deep down the panther seemed like a friendly fellow and not like a kidnapper or killer. "If you guys are holding me for ransom… well, I'm not rich…"

"No ransom," Kian replied. "You just crossed our way..." He didn't finish his sentence because suddenly a frightening thought entered his mind. He jumped up and opened the door to the cockpit. "Uh… Ken, where did you place the diamond?" he asked his boss with a trembling voice.

"What you mean 'where did you place the diamond'? I handed it to you!" Sheridan turned his head around slowly and glared at his partner. "Please do not tell me you lost it!"

"I didn't lose it! I always had it with me until-"

"YOU FOOL!" Sheridan exploded and stormed into the cargo hold picking Kit up by his collar. "You! You must have taken it! Where is it? Tell me!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't take anything!" Kit held his breath. This guy really should take better care of his teeth…

Sheridan pushed Kit hard against the wall of the cargo hold. "Don't lie to me! There was nobody here except for you! Where's the diamond?"

"I don't even know about a diamond!" Kit could not move, Sheridan was too strong.

"Little rat!" The panther yelled and slapped the boy hard across the face making him fall to the side and hit his head on the brick.

"Ken! What did you do?" Kian stared frightened at Kit's body that now lay motionless on the floor. "He did not take the diamond! I would have noticed!"

"Maybe, maybe not," Sheridan grumbled and made his way back to the cockpit slamming the door shut.

Kian went soft again and kneeled down beside the bear cub whose head had started bleeding where he had hit the folding bed. "I'm so sorry, kid…" he said silently.

* * *

Meanwhile at Higher for Hire Molly Cunningham was sulking. Baloo and her mother were discussing something with two policemen in the office and had told her to wait outside with Wildcat, refusing to tell her what made them so anxious. "Mommy has never kept a secret from me before!" the little girl complained and then looked curiously at Wildcat: "Did they say anything to you?"

"Uh…" Wildcat fidgeted. "No, I have no idea, " he lied.

"And why's the Seaduck gone?" Molly wondered.

Wildcat knew now was the time for a gamesmanship. "Hey, Molly, could you do me a big favor? I lost Freddie today…"

"Oh no!" Molly was staring at him wide-eyed. "Freddie… your favorite turnscrew?"

"Yeah…" Wildcat pretended to be down and even managed to drive a few tears into his eyes – well, the thought of losing his favorite tool already made him sad… "Will ya help me lock for it? It must be around here somewhere…"

"Sure thing!" Molly jumped up.

The trick had worked, Wildcat thought satisfied and started pretending to look around for Freddie.

Molly made her way over to some barrels that were standing at the left side of the building. "Freddie can't be very-" She stopped in the middle of her sentence when a small wooden box behind the first barrel caught her attention. "Oh, what's that?" she wondered and picked it up. "Maybe there's a treasure in it…" She slowly opened it and couldn't believe her eyes. "Wildcat! Wildcat! I found a treasure! If found a treasure!" she yelled excitedly.

In the box there was a huge red diamond sparkling mysteriously in the sunlight…

* * *

-- to be continued--

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

Kit slowly regained consciousness but did not dare to open his eyes. The sharp pain in his head was too strong for him to even think straight. He groaned.

Kian had put Kit down on the folding bed but still did not dare to remove the rope that held together the boys hands. Sheridan would just get mad again and his boss' violent temper was not to be underestimated. His boss… How the hell did he get caught up in this terrible situation? All he wanted to do was earn some quick money which he needed desperately.

Hearing Kit's groan he turned his head into the boy's direction. "Kid?"

Kit tried to open his eyes once more but the light that flooded through the side windows of the cargo hold only increased his headache. He only managed to form one word, "Ouch." He lay on his side as his arms were tied together behind his back – it felt like torture lying this way. He tried to move but was unsuccessful. "Please…" he croaked.

Kian turned soft again. "Alright…" he mumbled. "Wait a second, kid – I'll untie you." He walked over to the cub and freed his hands. Then he helped Kit to lie on his back.

The navigator now succeeded in opening his eyes.

"God, kid… I'm… so sorry", Kian kneeled down beside the bed. "It wasn't supposed to end like this…"

Kit was confused. At first Kian had seemed just as violent as his boss – he thought they were just two gangsters but the look of guilt in the panther's eyes did not fit into the picture. Kit began feeling nauseous. Closing his eyes again he asked: "What the hell is going on? I'm confused…"

Kian glanced at the closed cockpit door. "You know, I haven't known Ken Sheridan for a long time", he told the cub in a low voice in order not to attract Sheridan's attention. "I mean, I knew he was trouble but…" He sighed and looked down at the floor. "I never should have hooked up with him."

Kit opened his eyes again and looked at him curiously.

"You're wondering how I've become a thief, kidnapper… whatever, right?" Kian sighed once more and started his story. "Well, the truth is, I'm in debt. It's really bad – I haven't told my family yet… I'm sure my wife's going to leave me with the children… Anyway, Ken told me about this diamond that's worth millions and I just couldn't say no. This was the only chance to pay back my debts and therefore save my family…" He shook his head ruefully. "Right now I wish I'd never met him. My gosh, I've become criminal…" He hid his face in his hands.

Kit did not really know what to reply. On the one side he still felt mistrust but on the other side he understood too well what it meant to hook up with the wrong people. He had felt the same way after the whole fiasco with Don Karnage and his lighting gun. Sometimes he still felt guilty of everything that had happened even if Baloo always had reassured him it was not his mistake.

"Anyway," Kian continued, "I'm pretty sure the diamond's still near that Higher for Hire building so Sheridan has no choice but to go back there. I'll help you sneak out then. By the way, how are you feeling?"

Kit realized for the first time that his hand had been bandaged. He must have hit the brink harder than he remembered. "Nauseous," he replied weakly.

"I'm sorry," Kian apologized again shaking his head.

"Wasn't your fault…"

Kit had not even finished his sentence as the door to the cockpit flew open with a loud bang that made him wince in pain. Sheridan stepped into the cargo hold with the mike of the radio in his hands. "Alright, we'll radio that stupid cargo company – they must have the stupid diamond!" he gnarled and then looked at Kit and then at Kian. "Why the hell isn't he tied up anymore?" he yelled.

Kian stood up slowly. "Come on, he won't go anywhere. He's injured." _*Thanks to you*_ he added in his thoughts.

Sheridan only replied with another snarl and then started to radio Higher for hire…

* * *

_Tic… tic… tic… tic_

Baloo was sitting in the easy chair listening to the ticking of the great grandfather clock in the corner. The policemen had left a few minutes ago. They had told them they would start looking for the yellow seaplane immediately but had not been very optimistic in finding it too soon. No wonder – nobody had the slightest clue where the two panthers were right now.

The big grey bear could not remember a time when he'd felt this helpless before. Sure Kit had been into trouble before but even then he always knew where to start looking for him.

He shared a sad look with Rebecca who was sitting behind her desk feeling just as helpless and worried as her pilot.

"Oh Becky, I can't stand this…" he finally said. He stood up and began pacing around the office.

Rebecca watched him. "I know, Baloo – it's awful just sitting here and not being able to do anything but we'll find him," she tried to console him.

"You don't know that." The pilot sadly shook his head. "What if I never see him again?"

"Baloo that is enough! – since when are you so negative", Rebecca scolded. She stood and walked over to the grey bear and put her hands on his massive shoulders. "Kit has always found a way to tell us where he is. He's a smart kid."

Baloo sighed. "You're right… I really should stop thinking that way. But I can't stand all this waiting."

Suddenly the radio crackled causing both bears to jump.

"Come in, Higher for Hire." The voice was deep and sounded grouchy.

Rebecca stormed over to her desk and picked up the mike. "This is Higher for Hire. Who are you?"

"I am the guy who took your plane."

Baloo snatched the mike out of his boss' hands. "Where's Kit?" he bellowed.

"Ah, you mean our guest of honor." Sheridan sounded slightly amused. "Don't worry; we're giving him a VIP treatment."

"Why you- Hey!" Baloo could not finish his sentence as Rebecca quickly took the mike out of his hands.

"Look Mr.-" She began.

"My name does not matter to you, lady! Now listen: Me and my partner left a wooden box at your place and we would like to have it back," the voice – who of course was no one less than Sheridan – demanded.

"A wooden box? I haven't seen it." Rebecca's hands were shaking slightly. "Where exactly did you leave it?"

"How would I know?! We lost it." Sheridan exploded. "It must be somewhere near the building – and you better hurry up and find it if you every want to see the kid again!" He cleared his throat noisily. "We'll meet up tomorrow at 3 P.M. at the harbor of Carbelona – no police!"

Now it was Baloo's turn again to grab the mike out of Rebecca's hands. "Wait! How do we know if Kit's still with you?" he spoke into the mike. "L'il Britches, are ya there?" He desperately hoped for an answer.

And really – after a few seconds Kit's voice crackled over the radio. "Pa… Papa Bear?"

Baloo breathed a small sign of relief but was still anxious. "L'il Britches, are you alright?"

"I'm okay." The boy's voice sounded weak. "Bal-" His next sentence was cut off again by Sheridan.

"See? He's fine," Sheridan snarled. "Now you make sure you find that box or else say goodbye to him! Over and out." And then the radio turned still.

Baloo let the mike drop and ran a tired hand over his face. After a few silent moments he spoke up: "So I guess we better start looking for that box. Where do we start?"

Just then the front door flew open and an exciting looking Molly stormed in with Wildcat close on her heels. "Mommy, Mommy! Look what we found!" She held out the red diamond. "A treasure! A real treasure!"

Baloo's and Rebecca's mouths fell open.

"Molly… where did you get this?", her mother wanted to know and took the diamond carefully from her hands.

The little girls cheeks where red with excitement. "Outside the building while we where looking for Freddie! I suddenly found this wooden box an-"

"Wooden box?" Baloo and Rebecca exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yep." Wildcat held up the small box.

"Oh Wildcat!" Baloo ran towards him. "I could kiss you now!" He grabbed the diamond from his boss' hands and placed it back in the box. "C'mon, let's go save Kit!"

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to be continued

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_Note: _Alright, from now on I won't make any promises about writing my next chapter faster - I never keep my promises :( But no matter how long it takes, I will definitely finish this fanfic :) So I hope you enjoyed reading Chapter 4 and please tell me what you think of it. --- Signora Ramazzotti ---


	5. Chapter 5

Carbelona was normally always hot and sunny but right now it was the complete opposite. Heavy rain was pouring down and made it extremely difficult for incoming planes to land in the harbour.

The Sea Duck had already landed the day before and was now situated between two old sailing boats that did not really seem to belong to anyone. The small cargo plane was rocked by the waves of the sea which were stronger than usual due to the bad weather. They made Kit feel even more nauseous than he already was. After they'd radioed Higher for Hire he felt so bad he had to vomit which caused Sheridan to flee back into the cockpit.

Since then the cub had been trying to convince Kian to let him go and leave his boss but the panther desperately needed money and the diamond was his only hope, though he also felt really bad for Kit who should not have gotten involved in the whole story.

Kit intensely hoped Baloo would find the wooden box, although he knew that both panthers had no clue about where they had lost it and by now it might already have been found by somebody else. He wondered whether Baloo and Rebecca also informed the police about all this. Sheridan would definitely not be happy about that and Kit had to admit that he was truly afraid of what Kian's boss could still do to him.

Looking out the side window and watching the rain pour down Kian sat in the cargo hold beside and seemed lost in his thoughts.

Kit slowly turned his head over to him. "Do you think Baloo can land here in this kind of weather?" he asked weakly.

The panther continued looking out the window. "I'm afraid it doesn't look good…" he began and then looked at the boy. "But hey – it's only about 2.p.m. It might still get better." He tried to sound hopeful.

Normally Kit was not worried about Baloo flying in this kind of weather. The pilot had already mastered situations worse than that. The cub closed his eyes again. "Be careful, Papa Bear…" he whispered.

* * *

Baloo hated flying with a rented plane. It was a predecessor of the Conwing L-16 and already rusty as it had not been flown in years. Its red color already flaked off and over the navigator's seat there was a small hole in the ceiling where rain drops kept falling in. Annoyed by this, Rebecca had put a bucket onto the seat and was now standing behind Baloo and looking out the window worriedly.

"The weather's getting worse, Baloo…"

"I know, but don't worry – I've been through worse," the pilot assured her. He stayed silent for the next few minutes before he took a glance at his watch. "Damn it, It's already 2.30!"

Rebecca patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll make it on time." She took a quick glance at the wooden box which stood in the left corner of the cockpit. "I still think it would have been better to inform the police about the jewel," she said.

"No, it wouldn't. It would only have put Kit in more danger." He sighed. "I don't care if these guys get the jewel… I only wanna have Kit back."

Suddenly they heard the sound of other airplanes in the sky.

"Who else is flying around in this weather?" Rebecca wondered and frowned.

Baloo glared outside the window and snarled, "Three guesses."

Rebecca suddenly realized who it was. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the radio which started to crackle.

"_Allo, my furry mates! It is I, the glorious Don Karnage!"_

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_A/N: Still remember me and my little story? :D I finally found some time to write another short chapter. I bope you like it :)  
_


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